Blood Ties
by Shakespeare's Muse
Summary: “You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the wrong crowd, and before you know it you’re sucked into the vortex” A chain of events forces Ginny to take on the world of the Dark Lord; but will the lure of power prove too much for h
1. Bad Day

**Blood Ties**

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** "You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the wrong crowd, and before you know it you're _sucked into the vortex_" A chain of events forces Ginny to take on the world of the Dark Lord; but will the lure of power prove too much for her?

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognise, I don't own.

**A/N** Well, here I am again, back from the hell that is known as I-Can't-Think-Of-A-Decent-Story-Line – but this just sort of jumped out at me when I was thinking about possible plots, and I kinda liked it, so I decided to write it and inflict it upon the fanfiction community, lol. I've just been looking back at the first chapter of Things Change, and I have to say my writing has improved _so_ much since then. It's almost embarrassing to read the early chapters of Things Change now, lol.

Anyway, this story is definitely going to be a D/G, although I'll have to work on how to get Draco in here, and I don't think he'll be emerging for the first few chapters, but never fear, he will appear! Hopefully I can work in a little romance, but I'm not making any promises this early on, heehee. Of course, it's likely it'll appear eventually. But then, that's just with Draco and Ginny. You never know, she could find someone else instead – or as well…

Chapter One

Bad Day

_They were laughing._

_All of them, laughing as her life was ripped apart at the seams and thrown carelessly to one side. But then, why should they care? It didn't matter to them that these were people she loved, people she had known all her life and now would never see again – it was all a game. Just a game._

_The blinding green light that filled her vision was merciless, and the laughter that accompanied it was haunting as it rolled off the walls and over her in waves. She tried to block it out, tried to stop the screams reverberating in her head, but it was no use. There was no escape from this torture, no way out, no way she could it make it stop; no matter how many countless gods she prayed too and equally how many times she cursed them too. The sounds of the dying and the murderers filled her head, almost sending her insane with agony. There was no way out, no way out, no way—_

Ginny sat up in bed, gasping for breath as she slowly realised it had all been a dream – or rather, a nightmare. Untangling herself from the damp, sweaty bedclothes, she threw them off the side of the bed and collapsed back down onto the mattress, letting the fresh night-time air cool her down as she mulled it over in her mind.

It was nothing new to her of course. The nightmare of her parents' murder by the Death Eaters plagued her constantly, appearing repeatedly every night as she slept. Consequently, she could never really get the full night's sleep that an eighteen year-old girl needed, instead waking in the early hours of the morning and just quietly laying there until the sunlight that streamed in through the windows told her it was time to get up. She would get washed and dressed quietly, often lost in her own thoughts, before going downstairs to the same thinly-veiled argument that would ensue every morning with her foster parents. "_Why don't you find out about further education dear"_ they'd say, or perhaps even, as a last resort, _"How about another job dear? A nicer one? I'm sure you'd find one almost straight away"_.

But she'd always reply with the same thing; _"I like things just fine, thank you"_

That was a bare-faced lie of course. But she couldn't do anything about it; things just had to be the way they were. She'd made her choice not to go on to university, not keen on the idea of going to a ministry-run college, and she was going to follow through on it, even if it meant she had to take that stupid job at the library for money. Her only question was why did _she_ have to get landed with a job at the single most boring place in the universe?

But if she wanted to scrape together any of her own money, she'd just have to live with it. There were no other jobs she could take; her foster parents – Mary and Drew – had known they were lying to themselves and her when they'd said she could find a nicer job. Many muggles in the village where they lived didn't take kindly to Ginny, and were 'suspicious' of her and the way she acted, like how she often seemed to appear just when nobody knew she was there, or her dislike for telephones (something they found incredulously ridiculous – the telephone was a blessing as far as they were concerned). Of course, they'd never been suspicious of Mary and Drew – both extra careful to keep their identities secret – but with Ginny the villagers were a whole different bunch of people.

_Stupid muggles_, she thought, rolling over onto her stomach and looking at the clock on her bedside table. _2:37am_ winked back at her in neon green, and she groaned quietly, burying her face in her pillow and scowling into the soft linen. Sighing, she then turned her face towards the window, looking out at the inky blue sky dotted with little diamonds for stars. Her thoughts wondered to her brothers for a moment, and lingered there as she stared out at a sky which she knew they also lay under, somewhere out there.

_Two years is a long time to be alone…_, she thought sadly, twisting round the small silver band that dangled from a chain around her neck; a ring her mother had given her as a child, and one she had never worn on her finger again since their death. She hadn't seen her brothers for two years now, ever since the ministry had come and destroyed what little family they had left…

Quickly Ginny wiped away the tears that had filled her eyes, refusing to let them fall. Crying was a weakness she could no longer afford – she had to be strong. Not just for herself, but for all of them.

Clutching the necklace to her chest, Ginny exhaled wearily, settling down into bed and beginning her long wait until morning arrived.

***

"Oh, your monthly post came for you today, dear"

Ginny looked up as Mary held out an envelope towards her, waving it around slightly in an indication for her to take it as she carried on reading the paper propped up in front of her. Ginny took it silently, offhandedly tapping it with her wand to release the sealing charms and carelessly tearing it open, not worrying about the fact  that she had practically ripped it in half. She opened out the folded piece of parchment and skimmed it quickly, skipping the formalities at the top and instead reading only the last paragraph, the important one.

But today it was just the same as it had been last month, and the month before that, and the many other months before that also. It read;

_I am sad to announce that there is still no news as to the whereabouts or activities of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and so it is with humble apologies that I must inform you of the continued need for you to reside with Mr and Mrs Adams until further notice. I must once again repeat that this is for your own safety and for the safety of many others as well as your self. We hope that you will continue to enjoy your stay with the Adams' and that you keep in good health…_

"Yadda yadda yadda, yours sincerely, another air-brained secretary" Ginny muttered under her breath, crumpling the letter up. She didn't bother to read exactly who had written the letter; Fudge had so many secretaries that it seemed to be a new signature every month.

"The same?" Drew asked, looking up from buttering his toast on the kitchen counter. Ginny just raised an eyebrow, slouching in her seat at the table and taking a bite of her own toast.

"That'll be a yes then" Drew muttered to himself, turning back to his breakfast. Both he and Mary were used to Ginny's behaviour in the mornings now – the slouching, the yawning and the contemptuous scowls – and so they just left her to it most days.

Ginny stayed silent throughout breakfast, only speaking to ask – rather brusquely – if she could look at the newspaper. Mary handed it to her without a word, and Ginny took it, flipping it to the front page and scanning it quickly. There didn't seem to be much on there today, and so Ginny tossed it onto the table and stood up, walking out of the kitchen and into the hall, where she retrieved her beaten-up old sneakers and her bag. Quickly sliding on her shoes, she called out a quick '_bye_ to Mary and Drew before slipping out of the door and into the street.

Mary and Drew's house was situated on the main high street of the village – or should she say the _only_ high street in the village? There was hardly any pavement; just a thin strip of paving slabs to separate the front doors from the road that people actually called 'a street'.

Even though it was pretty hot outside, the June sky was overcast over with grey clouds, a sure sign of rain, and for once Ginny was thankful that she couldn't travel the two miles to the town for a better job. The library was only down the other end of the street, and besides, there was always the little shop next door – it was the only alternative to one of the nice modern cafés in the town, but Ginny couldn't go there unescorted, so she had to make do. It was old, and the people who ran it didn't really take to kindly to Ginny, but during her lunch hour Ginny would sometimes slip in and order a coffee, and maybe, if she was hungry, a doughnut too – it helped to keep her mind of the complete boredom that came with working in the village library.

Today was no different. On entering the dingy, badly-lit library, Mrs Hortense (the owner), narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Ginny before nodding to the desk that sat in the corner – Ginny's usual seat. Sitting down, Ginny turned on the ancient desk lamp that sat on the edge, defying the darkness caused by the heavy drapes Mrs Hortense always had half-closed over the windows. The old lady looked at her disdainfully, her eyes travelling to the bag that Ginny had slung over her shoulder before trudging into the back room where she kept all her accounts books. The door swung closed behind her, leaving Ginny in further darkness. She stared at the door for a second, annoyance beginning to build up inside her.

_She has got to be the most irritating old lady on the planet_, Ginny thought to herself, trying to suppress her frustration.

"Well, if that's the way you want to play it Mrs Hortense," she muttered under her breath as she stood up, "Then that's the way we'll play it"

Stepping over to the large Victorian windows at the front of the library, Ginny eyed one for a second before grabbing one side of the drapes with both hands and wrenching it aside. Clouds of dust rose from the ancient red velvet, and Ginny put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from choking on it as it swirled in the rays of albeit weak sunshine that was casting light over the shelves. Wiping watery eyes, Ginny moved onto the next one, repeating the action with all the windows until the library was full of light. Clouds of dust were everywhere, clogging Ginny's nose and making her sneeze, and so she stood on tiptoes and opened the windows, wincing slightly at the screech that sounded from the old, corroded metal as she pushed them open. It was worth it though, as the air almost immediately became clearer, and Ginny no longer needed to wipe her nose on her arm. Smiling contently, she looked around the library, with the sunlight streaming in and illuminating all the books, and decided once and for all that Mrs Hortense must be mad.

_How long has it been since someone opened those curtains?_ she wondered, walking over to a shelf that had several different copies of _Great Expectations_ and _Jane Eyre_ on it. Picking up one of the oldest books on the shelf, she opened it to see that it was an 1895 publication of _Nicholas Nickleby_, with the date stamp telling her that it had last been checked out in 1957.

"Probably the last time someone actually came to this library" she murmured, closing it and picking up another.

Ginny became so absorbed in looking at all the different books that she failed to notice the sound of Mrs Hortense's door opening, or the small gasp that escaped the old woman's lips as she saw how light and airy the building looked. There was no chance, however, that Ginny would miss the sound that followed.

"I knew yu were up t' no good!" The woman shrieked, causing Ginny to spin round and drop the book she was holding from shock. Mrs Hortense's face became horribly squashed, and to be frank, rather terrifying as she hobbled across the room towards Ginny, picking the book from off the floor and sticking it back on the shelf with a slightly manic glint in her eye. As soon as the book was back in place, she rounded on Ginny, staring at her with a terrifying expression.

"Mark my words girl," she croaked, hobbling forwards so that Ginny's only choice was to take a step back, "that if I catch yu in my library again, I'll 'ave your 'ead 'ung above the door, an' that ain't no word of a lie, yu 'ear me?"

Ginny nodded slowly, staring down at Mrs Hortense with a revolted look on her face. The old woman stared at her for a second, before shaking her head and hobbling back towards her little office, careful to avoid the sunshine that had invaded the library.

"Does that…does that mean I'm sacked?" Ginny called after her, peering towards the door Mrs Hortense had disappeared through.

"Sacked good an' proper my girl, good an' proper" she heard the old woman cackle, sounding quite gleeful that she had finally found an excuse to fire Ginny. The only reason she had taken her on was the fact that Mary's mother had once been close friends with Mrs Hortense, and Mary had practically begged on her knees for Ginny to be given the job.

Ginny stood motionless for a moment, processing the information Mrs Hortense had given her, before glowering fiercely and throwing up her hands. She angrily grabbed her bag from off the desk, pausing one moment to look back at Mrs Hortense's door with a glare, and then swept out of the library, making sure to slam the large double doors as hard as she could.

Outside the air was still hot; in fact, it seemed to have got worse since she had entered the library, and Ginny could tell the air was getting humid. She looked up at the sky and sure enough, the clouds had gotten darker and lower; the rain was already starting to fall. Shouldering her bag, Ginny headed up the street towards the Adams house.

***

"What do you mean, 'you got sacked?'" Mary asked incredulously, turning round in her seat at the table so she could look at Ginny, who stood in the doorway looking very wet and also very angry.

"What do you _think_ I mean?" she replied, kicking off her shoes and walking over to the table, where she sat down. She chucked her bedraggled bag onto the floor beside her and slumped back, arms crossed as she scowled at the far wall.

"But why on earth would Mrs Hortense sack you? I can't think of anything you could of done wrong…"

"That's funny, neither can I" Ginny replied heatedly, scrabbling in her bag. Withdrawing her wand, she tapped her hair with it and muttered something under her breath, and instantly her hair was dry again.

"What do you mean by that?" Mary asked, lending a hand and drying the rest of Ginny's drenched form with one flick of her wand, "Surely there must be _some_ reason…"

"The only thing I did was let a little light in" Ginny answered defensively, tearing a corner off of the Daily Prophet that lay on the table and fiddling absently with it. "You'd think she was some sort of vampire from the way she reacted"

But Mary also seemed to be shocked from what Ginny had just said. Her blue eyes widened and she shook her head, sending Ginny an almost disappointed look.

"You didn't open the curtains did you?" She asked solemnly.

_I swear the whole world has gone mad_, Ginny thought to herself, nodding. Her thoughts seemed confirmed when Mary shook her head, sighing as though Ginny had just told her she'd flunked every single exam she'd ever taken and was officially a lost cause.

"Please!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air with exasperation, "Please, tell me what is so wrong with _opening the curtains!_"

Grasping Ginny's hands, Mary gave her a calm-down-and-I'll-tell-you-why look, putting a finger to her lips in an indication for Ginny to quieten down.

"Perhaps we should have told you this when you got the job," she said, "but the last time those curtains were opened was 1979"

"Really? I thought it was more like sometime _last century_!" Ginny replied derisively, staring at Mary with a disbelieving and angry expression. What exactly had caused everyone to suddenly go nuts over a pair of bloody curtains?

"Look dear, I know you don't think you did anything wrong but those curtains have always been closed for a reason," Mary replied, her tone soothing, "Eric – that's Mr Hortense – was killed when he got hit by some anomalous…thing that flew in through one of the library windows. Believe it or not, those curtains were almost never closed up until the end of the seventies. After Eric died, Mrs Hortense never really opened the windows or the curtains again – wakes up too many painful memories to see the sunlight"

"So you're telling me that the old bat doesn't like sunshine because her husband got killed by a '_thing_' that flew in through the window?" Ginny replied disbelievingly, "How do they know he didn't just keel over and die? You never know, it could've been death by nagging"

"Now Ginny, really" Mary replied, giving her a reproachful look, "You know you shouldn't say things like that. And Drew and I have suspected for quite a while that it may have been a spell of some sort – He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at his strongest yet when Eric died, and it's perfectly possible that a Death-Eater teenager could have cast the spell through the window for what they might call some 'fun'. Mrs Hortense was absolutely cut up when he died and I'll not have any foster child of mine making crude remarks about her"

"Fine, whatever," Ginny answered, withdrawing her hands from Mary's and standing up, "All I know is, that old crone sacked me for no good reason, and when I come home I find a lecture from you waiting on the doorstep. I'm not staying here for this"

Picking up her bag, she dried it quickly with her wand, checked out of the kitchen window to see if it was still raining (which fortunately it wasn't), and then swept out of the room, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Mary called after her as Ginny put her shoes back on and unlatched the door to leave.

"Out!" she shouted back, slamming the door behind her. Once outside, she paused, heaving a frustrated sigh before stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans and starting to walk. Quickly running through a mental list of where she could go, only one place jumped out at her.

Turning into a little side street, she looked around quickly to check no one was there before disappearing out of sight with a small pop.

***

The smell of coffee in the small espresso bar was comforting as Ginny opened the door, weaving her way though the tables to the counter. The lunch hour rush wouldn't be starting for a good few hours, and there were only a handful of people around, so there was no queue.

Ginny leant against the top of the counter as she waited for someone to come and serve her, staring through the glass top at all the little cakes and things that were laid out on the shelves. Her mouth almost started to water as she looked at the muffins and cakes and little pastries, and she didn't notice the worker waiting for her until she heard a small cough. Looking up, she grinned apologetically at the woman, digging in her jean pocket for some change. She pulled out a small handful of coins, quickly counting them before looking at the menu on the wall behind the counter.

"I'll have…one caramel latté and a…double chocolate muffin please" she ordered, laying a crumpled fiver on the counter. The woman looked warily at the grubby, torn money for a moment before picking it up and slipping it into the cash desk and going to get Ginny's order. She returned with a mug of steaming latté, a large chocolate muffin displayed on a plate complete with a little napkin folded underneath it, and a forcibly cheerful smile.

Stuffing her change in her pocket, along with the rest of her coins, Ginny took her order over to a table by the window and sat down, digging hungrily into her muffin and sipping at the steaming hot latté.

As she sat and ate, she watched people go past outside the window, wondering at how long it had been since she'd last been to a place as busy as this. For two years now she had practically stayed put in that village, only breaking off to go back to school. After the Ministry had taken her as a ward of protective custody, she had been placed with her foster parents, Mary and Drew, living with them whilst Ron – the only other one who still had to be looked after by law – lived elsewhere.

They had been split up because the Ministry had deemed it too dangerous for them to live together – her parents had been killed by Death Eaters in what seemed to be a planned attack on two people at the forefront of the insurgence – and so they had decided that it put them all in too much danger to see each other until the war was over. Even her older brothers weren't allowed to visit, despite the fact that they didn't have to adhere to any of the ministry's rules if they didn't want to, because they were over eighteen. No, the ministry had decided that they might attract danger to Ginny, and so for two whole years she had been allowed absolutely no contact with any of her brothers at all. She didn't even know if any of them had families; wives, children…she didn't have a clue.

Just then, she was broken from her reverie by two people who had just entered the café sitting down at the table next to her, and she would have paid them no heed had it not been for the little symbol that decorated their black jackets – it was a small purple 'M' on the breast pocket that she recognised immediately. These two worked for the ministry.

Sliding down further in her seat, Ginny searched around quickly in her bag for something she could use to hide behind, and the first thing she came across was a book. Opening it quickly to a random page, she held it up in front of her face in an attempt to conceal herself from the view of the two ministry workers. She mustn't let anyone see her away from the care of her foster parents – it would mean big trouble.

Deciding that the best option was probably to leave, Ginny quickly and quietly began to clear away her things, paying the two workers no more than a swift and cautious glance – until she heard them mention a name that made her freeze on the spot.

"Here, Veronica, did you hear about that Weasley kid?" said the man, "What's his name – Richie, Ray—"

"Ronald," Veronica  replied, taking a swig of coffee and casting a glance around the café, "Yeah, I heard – I work with the Hit Witches, don't I? Fudge is furious, can't believe they took him right under his nose; It sounds as if the kid had gone on an unauthorised trip into the town centre and they," (here she leant forward conspiratorially and lowered her tone) "the Death Eaters, just grabbed him, blasted a couple of muggles to high heaven and back and disappeared. The amount of memory charms my lot have been out performing since yesterday has got to be a record. Fudge even had to talk to the muggle prime minister about it; apparently he's told their news people it was an escaped convict gone crazy or something like that"

Her colleague, the rather short, fat, balding man who looked like he probably worked in book-keeping and had no life, shook his head and tutted disapprovingly.

"Really, these youngsters have no ideas what's good for them anymore; and of course, it doesn't help that Dumbledore has been indulging those three" (by 'those three', Ginny knew he meant Harry and Hermione as well as Ron) "since the day they arrived at Hogwarts. It's despicable really"

"I completely agree Frederick. Fudge is steaming of course. Rumour has it that Potter wants to find the boy himself, but Fudge is completely forbidding it. He says it's ridiculous that Potter even thought he might be allowed to leave the complex – he's just too important to the war for him to go anywhere"

"What about the girl?" Frederick asked, biting into a large filled baguette and spilling half the contents down his chin, "Helga or Helen or—"

"Hermione," Veronica supplied, a look of disgust flickering across her face at the sight of Frederick eating, "Devastated apparently. Cried for a whole day straight – well, that's what Broger told me anyway. Naturally, once she'd finished she was just as obstinate as Potter – practically insisted they go along and find him"

"Fudge refused of course?" Frederick enquired, looking worried for a second that his beloved Fudge had been beaten down.

"Of course," Veronica replied, "So they're both still stuck in the complex. Dumbledore can't do anything about it either – his jurisdiction doesn't exceed Fudge's in this case. As Potter has no legal guardian, Fudge can appoint anyone he wants, and he's obviously appointed someone _he_ trusts, not who Dumbledore wants it to be. That means he basically controls everything about Potter's future"

"But Potter's eighteen isn't he?" Frederick asked, "Won't he be out of the Ministry's control?"

Veronica shook her head, smiling so smugly that Ginny felt sick at the sight of her.

"Because of the…circumstances surrounding him, Potter's is a special case – the girl's too. They'll stay under Ministry protection until the end of the war. And I wouldn't be too surprised if they do the same for Weasley's sister after this as well. She'll be in extra danger now if the attack on her brother is anything to go by"

Hearing herself mentioned, Ginny felt fear rises up in her chest as she realised just how stupid she had been to go out alone, and just how much trouble she would be in if anyone found out. Telling herself it would be better for her to just leave now, she promptly and silently wrapped up the rest of her muffin in the napkin and slipped it in her bag, before finishing off her latté with a last swig. Quickly considering whether or not it would be a good idea, she slipped her book into her bag, grabbed hold of her wand where it lay at the bottom, and quickly transfigured the book into a baseball cap, wincing as a small pop emanated from her bag. Luckily it hadn't been loud enough for anyone to hear, as the two Ministry workers carried on talking at the other table, and so she pulled it out of the bag and slipped it on, twisting up her hair and putting it into the hat so that it couldn't be seen. Then, keeping her head down, she picked up her bag, stood up and walked out of the café as fast as she could.

Once outside in the bustling street, Ginny let out a relieved sigh, slowing her pace down only when she could no longer see the café when she looked round. Turning into the next small side street, she paused to catch her breath for a moment, leaning against the wall.

_Now _that_ was a close call_, she thought, thinking back to the café and just how near she had come to being discovered breaking the rules. Thinking of the café and the conversation she had overheard there, she realised it would be good for her to get home as soon as was humanly possible, and so she looked around quickly to check there were no muggles close by before apparating away with a small pop.

***

Having gone upstairs from the moment she had arrived back, Ginny had taken refuge in her bedroom, transfiguring her hat back into a book and finishing off the muffin as she thought about what she had heard.

_The letter was obviously lying of course_, she thought contemptuously, shredding the one that she had received that morning and chucking it in the bin. _'No news as to the whereabouts or activities of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' – yeah, right_. _My brother being abducted by a group of Death Eaters was just a minor glitch unworthy of mention._ She sighed frustratedly, running a hand through her hair._ This is ridiculous._

Of course, the next question Ginny needed to answer was 'what was she going to do about it?'. There was no way she was just going to sit at home and pretend nothing was wrong – she had just heard the first piece of news about her brother in two years, and it was that he had been kidnapped by a group of Death Eaters.

_Plus_, she added, opening the draw of her beside table and taking out a photograph, _It doesn't sound like anyone's even doing anything about it. Harry and Hermione are stuck in some 'complex', and it seems as though the ministry are only concerned about Harry._

She looked down at the photograph in her hands, smiling slightly as Ron waved up at her from it, along with the rest of their family. It had been taken just before her parents had been killed, the day before her and Ron had gone back to school for another year. Everyone was in the picture – well, everyone apart from Percy, who had remained distanced from the family ever since he had sided with the ministry. Contact between him and the rest of them had been revived after the death of Sirius Black, but it had remained minimal.

Now of course, Ginny had no contact with him anyway, or with the rest of them, and the photographs that she had hidden away in her beside table were a nice reminder of the extensive family she had. Although now that she knew the ministry had been lying about Ron, there was no way she could be sure that any of the others were okay, or even alive.

She fell asleep holding the photograph, memories of the past and the life she had once had with her family following her as she slumbered.

***

It was still dark when Ginny awoke, abruptly sitting up in bed, breathing fast and hard. She had not expected to sleep through the whole night, but the reason she had woken was quite different from what it usually was.

Sitting still for a minute, her only movement the motion of her breathing, she stared at the photograph that was still clutched in her hand, a look of wonder on her face.

"Please be okay…" she murmured softly, touching the sleeping face of the Ron in the photograph. He opened his eyes sleepily, smiling up at her with bleary eyes before shifting into a more comfortable position and going back to sleep. She looked down at the picture for a moment, like she was thinking something over, before nodding to herself as if she had come to decision.

Putting the picture down on the bedside table, she got out of bed, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Kneeling on the floor, she looked underneath her bed, pulling out a black backpack that was covered in dust. Brushing it off, she tossed it onto her bed, then walked over to her wardrobe.

Opening it, she pulled out a few clothes – mostly jeans and tops – as well as a pair of worn looking converse boots, shoving them all haphazardly into the bag. The clothes that she had been wearing that day were hanging over the back of her desk chair where she had thrown them earlier, and now she put them back on, grabbing a jumper from her chest of drawers and pulling it on over her tank-top.

_Don't forget to write a note_, she reminded herself, tearing a piece of paper out of a notepad that lay on her desk and scribbling a quick note for Mary and Drew telling them not to worry and that she was fine.

_Fat lot of good that'll do of course_, she thought grimly, folding it up and placing it on her pillow where Mary and Drew were sure to see it. She paused for a moment as she picked up the bag, gazing at the note for a moment as if considering whether what she was about to do really was a good idea; but then her gaze fell on the photograph on her beside table, and her resolution was strengthened. Picking it up along with her wand, she looked at it one last time before putting it into the backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

Once in the hall outside, she silently closed her bedroom door, gliding noiselessly across the carpet and down the stairs, careful not to let any floorboards squeak as she passed Mary and Drew's room and praying that neither of them was a light sleeper.

She made it to the front door without any disturbances, and sat on the stairs, silently putting on her sneakers and reaching for a black beanie that sat on the radiator in the hallway. Standing up, she put the hat on, grabbed her keys and soundlessly slipped through the front door, closing it quietly behind her and finally leaving her virtual prison behind.

***

**A/N** Well, here it is, the first chapter of my new fic. I hope it wasn't too bad, lol. I've been writing this over the Christmas period, which was probably a bad idea as it's taken me days because there's been so many good movies on telly, but I've finally finished, and well, here you go! Please review and tell me what you think, and whether or not I should continue – although I probably will whatever anyone says, so…


	2. Getting To Know the Neighbours

**Blood Ties**

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** "You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the wrong crowd, and before you know it you're _sucked into the vortex_" A chain of events forces Ginny to take on the world of the Dark Lord; but will the lure of power prove too much for her?

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognise, I don't own.

**A/N** Well, here I am, updating, something I don't seem to do very often, lol. I'm really sorry for the update time, but as I'm getting out longer chapters than I previously have been, then things will be going a little slow. Please forgive me, lol ; )

Chapter Two

Getting To Know the Neighbours

As she appeared outside the station in the town centre with a faint *popping* sound, Ginny grudgingly resigned herself to the fact that this would be the last time she would be apparating for quite a while – the ministry often tracked missing people down when they apparated, the particular branch of magic that it used being easy to identify with special ministry technology.

A convenient way to travel it might be, but if Ginny didn't want to be caught, she'd have to give up that luxury.

Entering the building, she quickly bought a train ticket to her destination, nervously biting her lip as the clerk processed the tickets and practically snatching them from his hands with a hasty 'thank you' as she rushed towards the platform.

The platform itself was freezing, acting like a wind tunnel in the chill air of 3:30am. The vicious wind whipped her hair about her face as she waited, her arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep warm.

She wished now that she had brought an extra jumper, thinking longingly of the warm fleece that she had left behind in her hurry to leave. Thinking of the fleece led to thoughts of her bedroom, and for a moment she wished that she was back in her warm, snuggly bed at home with her head on her pillow and the duvet pulled up over her chin, cosy and secure.

But no – she had started on this journey and she wasn't going to give up already, when she had really only just begun.

Promising herself that as soon as possible she would buy herself a coat, she sat down on the nearest bench to wait for the arrival of her train. Thankfully she didn't have to kill time for long; in the next five minutes it drew noisily into the station, and she boarded quickly, one of only a few getting on compared to the noisy parties of raucous young men and women who were disembarking from the carriages.

She passed several drunk young men who wolf-whistled at her, but she ignored them as best she could, holding her head high and carrying on down the train to the rear carriages. One tried grabbing onto her jumper, and nearly succeeded in pulling her onto his lap, but she kicked him angrily and he let go, he and his friends giggling stupidly as she walked away and thankfully leaving her alone.

She settled finally in a coach near the back of the train, mostly empty save for an elderly couple asleep at the opposite end. Chucking her bag onto the seat beside her, she sat next to the window, yawning and slouching down in the seat, feeling much more comfortable than she had outside on the bench a minute ago as the train jerked forwards slightly and began to move.

It was warmer in the carriage than it had been outside, and Ginny pulled off her beanie hat, shoving it unceremoniously into her bag whilst she tried to see if she had any gum in the front pocket. Finding none, she sighed dramatically, crossing her arms and slouching even further down into her seat.

"What's the matter sunshine, found disaster waiting for you in the bottom of the bag?"

Starting tensely, Ginny looked up to see who had spoken and found herself looking up at a young woman (although older than Ginny was), wearing a cool smile on her ruby-red lips

She was standing next to Ginny's two seats, leaning on the one in the aisle. A cigarette smoked in one pale hand, and numerous gold bangles dangled from her thin wrists. Laughing callously, she dropped down into the seat opposite Ginny and leant on the table in between them, stubbing out her cigarette on the surface and causing it to smoke a little, a small, black, congealed blob left where the smouldering ash had burnt the plastic.

Taking a pack of Marlboro out of the pocket of her cord jacket, she pulled another one out and lit up, taking a long and savouring drag as if she hadn't smoked in a week. Noticing Ginny staring at her, she flicked the packet open and held them out to Ginny in an invitation for her to take one.

Shaking her head, Ginny declined the offer, surreptitiously trying to edge back in her seat a little to avoid the smoke wafting across the table from the cigarette in the woman's hand. Ginny wasn't too fond of cigarettes and cigars; her great-grandfather had died because he smoked so many.

"You know, you can just ask me to stop kid – I won't be offended" the woman said suddenly, not even looking up from studying her flawlessly manicured fingernails that matched her lipstick perfectly.

Ginny relaxed slightly at the woman's mildly cordial tone, and nodded in reply, silently thankful to the woman.

"Just let me finish this one, yeah?" she asked, indicating the cigarette in her hand. Ginny nodded, leaning back once again and slouching in her seat, thinking the conversation was over – but it seemed the woman had other ideas.

"What's your name kid?"

"What?" Ginny (who hadn't been listening) replied, looking over at the woman.

"I said, _what's you name_?" she repeated, "It's a simple question kid"

Ginny paused for a second, wondering suddenly if she should give her real name or not. With the ministry after her, 'Ginny Weasley' was a name they would be asking after. She needed something else…

"Virginia" she answered finally, deciding on just her full name instead of her given one.

"Virginia?" the woman replied, raising her eyebrows with incredulity, "You sure as hell don't _look_ like a Virginia. Nah, I think I'm going to call you…Ginger, after that hair of yours. Nice to meet you" she added, holding out the hand that was empty of a cigarette.

Dubiously, Ginny reached over the table and took the woman's hand, shaking it politely.

"What about you?" Ginny asked softly, following the manners her mother had taught her, "What are you called?"

"Well, I do have a _real_ name, but nobody knows what that is, so people just call me Stella" she replied, taking one last drag of her cigarette and stubbing it out on another bit of the table. Once again, the plastic went black and began to congeal as wisps of smoke rose from it for a few seconds before it cooled.

"Why doesn't anyone know your real name?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Because I don't _want_ anyone to know what it is" Stella replied simply, grinning roguishly, "It's a stupid, middle-class suburbia name that no self-respecting person would ever let other people know. My mother was the only one who ever called me it, and now she's dead and buried there's no one else in the world but me who knows what it is"

"Oh…" Ginny replied slowly, unprepared for the amount of information Stella had loaded on her, "That's…"

"Weird," she supplied amiably, putting her feet up on the seat next to her so that she was stretched across the two seats, the back of her knees laying on the armrest in between them, "But no one would call me it anyway, I'm stuck with Stella for the rest of my life now. The guys down at the Viper club renamed me—"

"I'm sorry, what?" Ginny cried suddenly, interrupting her, "Who – where did you say?"

"The Viper club," Stella replied, looking at Ginny with an odd expression, "Why?"

"I've heard of it before. It's…well, it's where I'm going," Ginny replied, calming slightly, although she was still leaning forwards over the table, her eyes lit up with animation, "Except, well…I don't really know where it is"

"Wait a minute Ginger," Stella said, holding out a hand in a gesture for her to calm down, "If you want to go to the Viper club, then you must be a…you are, aren't you?"

"If you're asking me if I'm a witch," Ginny replied, lowering her voice to barely above a whisper, "Then my answer would have to be yes. And what about you? You must be as well"

Stella nodded, a grin spreading across her face. "Born and bred. I went to Hogwarts, obviously, and I graduated…if I was Class of '93 I graduated…five years ago. What about you? When did you graduate?"

"Uh…'97" Ginny replied quickly, deciding quickly to add a year to her age as another way to throw the ministry off course. "I'm nineteen"

"Nineteen? You look younger" Stella replied, studying Ginny's face, her remark and her eyes making Ginny feel slightly nervous. "What house were you in?"

"Ravenclaw" Ginny replied, the lie coming a little more swiftly this time, and less nervously, "How about you?"

"Slytherin – pureblood of course, like yourself I'd imagine" Stella replied, shocking Ginny slightly with the revelation of her house. But then, she shouldn't really be surprised at all – Stella fit in well the Slytherin image. "And you're a turncoat Ravenclaw," she added, grinning, "We don't see too many of them around"

"A turncoat?" Ginny asked, baffled.

"Well, I suppose you don't think of yourself as a turncoat, do you? It just seems natural to follow this way of life – our way of life" Stella replied, rolling back the sleeve of her coat.

Ginny had to fight to stop herself from either vomiting or fainting as she saw the black skull imprinted on the soft white skin of Stella's forearm. It was exactly the same as it had been the last time she'd seen one, floating in the sky over the ruin that had once been the Burrow, and almost at once a white hot, burning rage seemed to well up inside her chest. She fought it down, clenching her fists under the table so hard that her nails were digging painfully into her hands.

Stella rolled her sleeve back down quickly, checking that no one else was around and that no one had seen the Dark Mark stamped on her skin. She grinned at Ginny, who was staring fixedly at her arm.

"So – what about you?"

Ginny looked up, confused. "What—?"

"What about you? Your mark?" Stella replied, gesturing to Ginny's own forearm.

"Oh, uh – I…haven't got one…" Ginny muttered, crossing her arms and biting her lip tensely.

"_Oh_…" Stella replied, her eyes flicking from Ginny's arm to her face and then back to her arm again. She looked at Ginny's arm for a moment, a blank expression on her face until to Ginny's slight relief she just smiled and leant back in her seat, simply replying, "I see…"

There was a pause for a moment, Ginny's heart beating wildly as she thought how stupid it was that she had already been caught by a Death Eater so early on in this journey. Stella just looked at Ginny, a small smile on her lips, before asking lightly, in an amiable voice, "You're one of those people that's sort of in between, yeah?"

"Uh…yeah" Ginny answered, deciding quickly that her best option was to go along with what Stella was saying, hoping fervently that perhaps Stella didn't now want to kill her.

"And now you want to go to the Viper club to see what life is like '_on the other side of the fence'_, as it were. You want to know what it's like to be one of us"

"Uh…yeah, yeah, that's it," Ginny replied, taking a firm hold of the lifeline Stella had unwittingly given her and using it for all it's worth, "That's exactly what I'm doing"

"Well then," said Stella, smiling wickedly, "Welcome to the club"

***

"So, where do we go from here?" Ginny asked as her and Stella stood in Paddington Station. Stella was sipping from a paper coffee cup, her eyes narrowed; she seemed to be contemplating something.

"Well," she said, downing the last dregs of the coffee and chucking the cup over her shoulder (Ginny winced inwardly – years of being brought up with good manners had made her hate littering), "I was thinking of taking the Edgeware route; it's a much shorter and closer way, and you tend to pick up a few people on the way, so it can be pretty fun"

She grinned at this, not noticing Ginny's confused expression.

"Pick up a few people?" Ginny asked, not quite sure whether she really wanted to hear the answer to her question or not. It could turn out to be some sort of Death Eater euphemism for…well, something really gross.

"Sometimes I meet a couple of friends on the way," Stella told her, crossing her arms and beginning to walk away across the station floor. Ginny hurried after her, slowing as she caught up with Stella's swift pace. "Ewan generally goes that route and I normally see Marisa hanging about down near the back of the club"

"Oh" Ginny replied, relieved. Following Stella out of the station and onto the dark London streets, she looked about her at the streets and the many shops, restaurants and nightclubs all jumbled together along Pread Street and the roads that stretched out from the dingy side entrance of the station. Some of the shop windows were dark, but many of the restaurants remained open and the nightclubs were obviously swarming with people.

"So, which way are we going?" she asked, getting Stella to stop so that she could retrieve the beanie from her bag. Fleetingly she thought back to her fleece once again, but the eagerness in Stella's eyes as she looked down the road stopped her from thinking about the things she had left behind and made her concentrate on the job at hand. "Is it far?"

"An hour away, if we walk," Stella replied, turning left and starting to move away down Pread street, Ginny pacing along beside to her. Stella pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit up as they walked along, and Ginny winced slightly as Stella exhaled and smoke swirled out of her mouth and nose, standing out white against the backdrop of the shadowy street. Still, now that they were outside Ginny could no longer really smell the smoke, and so she didn't say anything, instead following Stella as they made their way down the street.

"So, Ginger," Stella began, taking the cigarette from her mouth as she turned to Ginny, "Where'd you hear about our little…establishment? I had no idea it was so widely famed"

Her tone was sarcastic, matching the mordant smile that was playing across her lips as she looked across at Ginny. Smiling back, albeit a little tautly, Ginny tried to play it cool, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jeans as they strode along and shrugging nonchalantly.

"Oh, just here and there. I know a few people, if you get what I mean…" she lied coolly, keeping her eyes on the other end of the street to avoid any possible indication to Stella that she wasn't telling the truth. To her relief she just nodded and grinned, tapping cigarette ash to one side with a casual (and practised) flick of her wrist.

"That's usually how it happens," she replied, "You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the 'wrong crowd', and before you know it you're _'sucked into the vortex'_, as some of my closest associates like to say. The world of the Viper Club opens up before you, and from then on you are it's always willing servant"

She ended the sentence with a slight flourish, grinning and breaking into small giggles as she finished. Ginny let out a strained laugh, her smile not reaching her eyes as she thought on how potentially dark what Stella had just said could be. Fortunately, Stella didn't notice Ginny's lack of humour at the idea, instead beckoning for Ginny to follow as they turned the corner. They passed a sign as they turned onto the road – one of the usual London ones, done in red and white with the postcode at the bottom – telling her that they were on Edgeware road, the street that Stella's route was named after. A police car screamed past them as they began walking down the road, the blue and white swirling siren highlighting the shop fronts along the road. Hundreds of Arab characters, accompanied by smaller English script, jumped out at Ginny as they passed them, and she looked into the windows of the grubby convenience stores to see much the same as the stuff in the small corner shops of Ottery St. Catchpole and her village shop back home.

"It's a bit more classy up Kings Road," Stella informed her, noticing the look on Ginny's face as she caught sight of a group of prostitutes further up the road, "Less illegal activity. Well, in theory anyway" she added with a roguish grin. Ginny smiled back, albeit rather nervously, wondering what exactly she had got herself in to.

_What the hell was I thinking, leaving home? _she thought to herself as they passed the prostitutes, several of whom yelled at Stella in greeting. Stella mischievously swore at them in return, grinning and throwing an arm over Ginny's shoulder as they walked on. Ginny closed her eyes momentarily as she began to inhale smoke from the cigarette still in Stella's hand, and as she did so the image of Ron from the photograph floated before her eyes. It strengthened her resolve as she saw it, and she opened her eyes again, turning her face away from the cigarette as much as she could without being rude to see Stella still grinning beside her.

_Oh well_, she thought mordantly, looking ahead of her down the darkened street, _might as well make the most of it. After all_, she reflected, _it's not like I can escape now._

* * *

**A/N** Okay, please don't kill me – I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but I've been busy! The essay, remember?! Anyways, I _did_ think that I'd lost interest on this story, but my previously comatose plot bunnies have miraculously reawakened, and although they're still a little sluggish, things are going well. But don't expect an update soon – I think I've caught Not-Updating-For-Months-At-A-Time syndrome, lol.

Thanks to:

**Vipera** (Hey, thanks for the compliments on the fic, v. nice, lol) **cashew** (Heya, I'm glad you're liking this fic. However, there is one thing…I have to admit to not actually knowing what Seinfield is. Soz! Obviously this update wasn't fast, it was s-l-o-w, but I promise to make up for it with good-quality chapters! Well, a girl can dream…Oh, and I've read the Bell Jar! It was v. good, and I found out after that my mum actually has a book of her poems, which isn't too bad either. I hope you like the books I recommended!) **Alyssa Rose** (hope you enjoy the mango, lol. Sorry for the update, but you know what it's like – I'm in demand in so many other places…yeah, I wish! Hope you liked this chapter, please keep reading. It's great that you're liking smart, rebellious Ginny) **Maive **(You have no idea how much I love getting new readers! And I have continued, albeit a little later than usual, but still. Hope you like it!) **Bubbles **(Like I've said before, soz for the update – but it's here, finally, so I hope it was good) **fcuking** **cathy **(I apologise profusely if at any point it seemed like I wasn't going to continue this – I have! *cue orchestra playing triumphant music* I know, I can't believe it either, lol. Thanks, and keep reading – loyal reviewers are always the best!)


	3. Introductions

**Blood Ties**

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** "You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the wrong crowd, and before you know it you're _sucked into the vortex_" A chain of events forces Ginny to take on the world of the Dark Lord; but will the lure of power prove too much for her?

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognise, I don't own.

**A/N** Heehee, hello again, faithful readers – I've updated, finally! Isn't it amazing? And it only took, what, about a billion years? I don't think this one took as long as the previous chapter, but I can't be sure – however, as this is about 2000 words longer, I'm sure you can forgive me in any case. Oh, and just to clear this up; when I created the Viper Club, I have to confess to having no knowledge of the existence of the Viper Room in the _"Good ol' U.S of A."_ at all (Thanks to **cashew** for alerting me to that). I've since found out that it's Johnny Depp's club, so I'm honoured to know that we think along the same lines when naming clubs, lol.

Chapter Three

Introductions

The Viper Club, it turned out, was concealed behind the façade of a long abandoned psychiatric hospital hidden down one of Kings Road's many mewses.

Upon reaching the corner of one of these dingy allies – quite a world away from the pulsing clubs, pubs and bars that lined the opposite side of the street – Ginny felt slightly alarmed as Stella grinned, grabbed her wrist and began to pull her down the alleyway, where a derelict building sat at the end of the mews, with a sign saying _Alden's Home for Psychiatric Patients_ hung above the dirty, mostly broken windows that stretched across it's front.

But it wasn't this that alarmed her. It wasn't even so much the almost manic grin on Stella's face, or the fact that her sleeve had pulled up slightly from her forearm and Ginny could now see the Dark Mark in it's full glory – no, it was more the idea that, now she was here, there was no way for her to go back. Ginny wasn't stupid – Stella had told her about the Viper Club, and Ginny realised with a sickening clarity that she hadn't a hope in hell of returning to the way things were now that she was here. She knew about this sort of place – if she did a runner she'd be hunted down 'til the Death Eaters were sure there was no way she could tell the ministry about the club.

_You are such an idiot Virginia Weasley, do you know that?_ she scolded herself mentally as Stella stopped outside what looked to be a plain grey steel door, an ancient sign above it proclaiming 'Staff Entrance' with the name of the hospital written underneath in smaller script. She turned to Ginny with a smirk and a confident "Watch this", before turning to the door before them. Reaching up to her neck, Ginny saw Stella wrap her fingers around something that hung off of a chain, and as she gripped it in her hand, she started to chant slowly and quietly in what sounded like Latin.

Ginny watched entranced as slowly a green hue began to emanate from whatever it was that Stella held, the chant gradually getting louder until it was no longer being whispered, but was at normal speaking level. Magick seemed to ignite the air, and as Ginny watched, the front of the building seemed to ripple just like the surface of a lake. As the ripples crossed the surface of the steel door, it seemed to peel away with the movement of the undulation, revealing underneath a bolt-studded door (also made of steel) covered in random stickers and signs that people had stuck on it over the years. Above it blinked a neon green sign proclaiming _The Viper Club_ in curly flashing script. On either side of the door and sign the walls remained brick, but they somehow seemed more…animated then they had when they had stood on either side of the door to psychiatric hospital. Ginny had a feeling it was probably the magick pulsing through them.

"So? What d'ya think?"

Ginny turned to Stella and shrugged, unsure what to say. "It's pretty cool. Definitely…weird"

"Well, if you think _that's_ pretty cool," Stella replied, throwing her arm around Ginny's shoulders and walking up to the door, "Then you'll be going wild when you get inside".

With that, she rapped on the door with her knuckles hard, smiling serenely up when a small grate in the door was pushed open and a pair of eyes peeked out.

"Password?" said the voice that belonged with the eyes, a kind of gruff, muffled sound.

"_Fide mea_" Stella uttered in a voice riddled with an almost manic pride.

There was a pause, Ginny watching as the eyes behind the doors narrowed, before the grate was pushed back and the door swung open to admit them. Ginny's heart beat wildly as Stella grabbed her wrist and tugged at her to follow, stepping through the doorway and into a darkish corridor lit only by candles encased within expensive looking glass lamps. The walls and ceiling of the corridor were painted black, the floor made of a shiny, hard surface that reflected the candles; pounding music could be heard nearby, along with the noise of what sounded like a lot of people.

"Whose this?" the bouncer asked as Ginny obediently followed Stella into the corridor, his eyes suspicious as they locked on them both.

"_This_ is Virginia – stupid name, I know, but believe me Karl," Stella replied, addressing the bouncer with a familiar air, "She has got _a lot_ of potential. Everyone's going to _love_ her!"

"Hmmm," the bouncer mumbled in reply, his eyes lingering on Ginny's slight form as she stood there next to Stella, "Well, alright"

Stella's eyes lit up at this, and she was about ready to wheel round and head through the door at the end of the corridor when the bouncer put up his hand.

"_But_ – I know you Stella, and if you've got any hope of another one of you minions ending up favourable in _his _eyes, then perhaps you'd better let her borrow some of your clothes. Nobody's attractive in that jumble" he said, gesturing to Ginny's jeans and her jumper.

"Perhaps Karl, perhaps" Stella replied, laughter hidden in her voice as she nodded her thanks to him and turned towards the door, pulling Ginny along.

_That jumble?_ Ginny thought to herself as she followed Stella, _There's nothing wrong with my clothes. And who the hell is this 'he'?_

But any thought of why a bouncer had told Ginny to change her clothes flew from her mind as Stella opened the door at the end of the corridor, and the world of the Viper Club opened up before them.

An enormous room stretched out in front of them, thronging with people. Everything was painted black, from the ceiling to the floor to the stage at one end that right now was host to a very loud rock band.

A bar stretched out along the wall on one side, with a few tables and chairs near the back of the room, and stairs led up from there to another level that was situated over the tables and chairs. This level was filled mostly with tables, as well as people leaning over the edge of the railing to watch the band on the stage below. However, most of the room was taken up by an enormous dance floor that was crowded with people, most of whom were singing along wildly to the band and moshing – a lot.

"So," Stella began, gesturing for Ginny to follow as she started to walk down a flight of stairs that led from the door down to the floor of the club, "What do you think of it then?"

"Uh…" Ginny stammered, looking around in wonder at everything she was seeing, "It's…it's…big"

"Oh, is that all you can say?" Stella cried, looking delighted as she reach the bottom of the stairs and jumped the last two, despite the fact that she was wearing heels. She swung round as Ginny followed, grabbing her hand and nearly yanking her down the last few steps. "C'mon – there are some people I want you to meet"

Ginny shadowed Stella obediently as they made their way around the edge of the dance floor, Stella's keen eyes searching the crowd until they fell on a group of people standing by the bar in a circle, drinks in hand as they laughed at each others (most likely bad) jokes.

"Aha," Stella murmured, walking up to the little circle and tapping on young man on the shoulder. He turned as she did so, his face breaking into a grin as he saw Stella standing there.

"Stella! Where have you been?!" he cried, grabbing her in a bear hug. "We haven't seen you for ages"

"Oh, just out and about," she replied, returning the embrace. Looking behind her, her eyes fell on Ginny, hiding in the shadows behind Stella. Giving a mental sigh, she grabbed Ginny's wrist for what felt like the millionth time in five minutes (what was it with this girl and holding back?) and pulled the reluctant Ginny right into the middle of the circle.

"Guys, I have someone here for you to meet," she announced, grinning at the mildly shocked faces of her friends, "This is Virginia – my new project"

_Project?_ Ginny thought with mild annoyance, _What am I, a bloody lab rat? _All the same, she forced herself to smile at the circle of people that suddenly surrounded her, nodding at them in greeting.

"Ginny, this is Hugh," Stella began, introducing her to the man that she had spoken to first, "And this is his fiancée Eleanor"

A woman with an wealth of long and wavy red hair not unlike Ginny's own shorter version stuck out her hand, shaking it and greeting Ginny with an elegant "Hello". Ginny couldn't help noticing the possessive arm linked within Hugh's, the woman's chic purple fingernails tapping out a muted rhythm on his bare arm. Hugh himself, however, didn't seem to mind, looking rather smug at having such a beautiful woman on his arm.

"This over here is Anne," Stella said, indicating a woman that stood next to her, tall and thin and wearing an aloof expression on her face. "She seems a little cold, but really she's a kitten in disguise" whispered Stella, just loud enough for everyone to hear over the music, and Ginny was relived to see the hint of a smile on the formidable looking Anne's mouth.

Next Stella presented her to a sprightly-looking woman called Michelle that reminded Ginny of Hermione, in a rather abstract way. Browny-blonde curls fell delicately around her shoulders, and her coffee-coloured eyes sparkled with interest as Ginny shook her hand. After her came a guy with messy russet hair, who grinned and winked at Ginny with a casual "Hi, I'm Luke". Lastly, Stella introduced her to a woman called Marlein, a Hispanic girl with short wavy hair and glittering black eyes, who shook her hand and looked her up and down with a slightly malicious hint of amusement.

"Now Ginger, I'm going to get us some drinks. What's your poison?" Stella asked, motioning for Ginny to follow her to the bar, which she did, squeezing past Eleanor and Marlein; she could almost feel their eyes burning into the back of her neck as she passed. Feeling a shiver run up her spine, Ginny wrapped her arms around herself as she arrived behind Stella, watching as she called the barman over.

Sliding a glance over at where Ginny stood next to her, Stella's eyes meandered over her worn, faded jeans and her baggy jumper, together with the pair of washed out pink sneakers that were just visible beneath the hem of her trousers.

_There's no way she'll survive more than five minutes with him in those clothes_, Stella thought grimly as she ignored a request from Ginny for a glass of water and ordered two neat Vodka's instead.

"Get that down you" she ordered as she handed Ginny the shot glass, downing her own almost immediately, her body giving an involuntary shiver as she slammed the glass down on the bar.

Ginny raised a distrustful eyebrow as she stared into the tiny glass of clear liquid; she'd never even drunk Vodka _mixed_ with anything, let alone by itself. She had no idea if she could even handle it properly – sure, she'd got drunk at parties before (a lot more after her parents had died), but that had only been following about fifty butterbeers and a few smuggle alcopops; Vodka had never been part of the equation before.

But back then, the situation had been entirely different. Then she'd just been a fifteen year old girl who was having a good time with her friends; now she was eighteen, and standing in a bar full of Death Eaters – she was supposedly a potential one herself. This time, she had to play along – not only did _her_ life depend on how she acted tonight, but her brother's did as well.

_Here goes_, she thought firmly as she gripped the glass tightly in her hand. Taking a deep breath and feeling well aware of Stella's eyes on her, she held the glass to her lips and tipped the contents back into her throat.

It burned all the way down, and it took most of Ginny's effort not to choke it all back up, tears filling her eyes as her body involuntarily convulsed as she tried not to cough.

"I have a feeling that was your first neat Vodka," she heard Stella say as she put the glass back on the bar. Nodding a little, Ginny wiped her mouth with her sleeve, feeling the back of her throat still burning even as she swallowed again to try and get rid of the sensation.

"My first _neat_ Vodka" she managed to choke out, looking up to meet Stella in the eye despite the fact she felt dizzy, "I prefer Vodka and Orange myself"

"Well, I shall just have to order you one then," Stella replied, grinning. She called the barman over again to order drinks, before turning back to Ginny; this time with an almost business-like air.

"Now, I'm sure you heard when dear old Karl the Bouncer told me your clothes were awful" she advocated, leaning her elbows on the bar and looking Ginny up and down in a practical manner, "And to be honest, for the job you'll be dong tonight, he's right"

"What job?" Ginny asked warily, taking a sip of her Vodka and Orange as it arrived and suppressing the urge to choke once again.

"Oh, there's just someone you need to meet is all, and to be brutally honest he won't look twice at you in that. You need something more…glamorous" Stella advised.

"So…? What happens?"

"Well," she began, "The girls and I have always been pretty good at transfiguration…"

Stella didn't need to finish her sentence for Ginny to know what she meant. Looking down at her clothes, she cast a hesitant look up at the girl before her. Stella just look straight back with a gleeful grin, one eyebrow raised as if to say _"C'mon, what are you waiting for?"_. Remembering that she was on Stella's territory now (and it was a dangerous place too), she sighed and nodded reluctantly, watching glumly as Stella grinned with delight.

_What have I got myself into now?_ was her last thought as Stella stepped away from the bar and pushed her back towards the group, eager for the transformation to begin.

***

"God, you don't carry much around do you?"

Ginny looked up from where she was sitting on a pouffe in the Ladies to see Michelle had opened up her backpack and was busy pulling out all her clothes.

"No, not really" she replied, at this point not really bothered about it. She had already been stripped of her jeans by a giggly Stella telling her she had nothing to worry about – having her bag looked through was no big deal. The only things in there were her clothes and a load of junk.

Seeing this for herself, Michelle soon stopped rummaging in the backpack, instead wondering over to where Ginny and Anne sat watching the other three transfigure her jeans into various other articles of clothing. They had already persuaded a rather reluctant Ginny to let them transfigure her beloved sneakers into a pair of high-heeled boots, on the promise that they'd turn them back at the end of the night. Sitting down on a couch next to Ginny's pouffe, Michelle stretched out long legs over the leather, idly watching the others.

It had been obvious as soon as Ginny had entered the Ladies that it wasn't just the club's female toilets. In fact, it resembled a boudoir more than anything else. The framework of the room was all gold, from the skirting to the doorframe to the candle holders that lit the room, and the walls were painted in a style similar to the Sistine chapel, except that instead of cherubs and angels, scenes of countryside that looked similar to Tuscany decorated the walls. Everything was pale and pastel coloured, and a luscious white carpet adorned the floor. Cream-coloured couches and pouffes upholstered in leather were scattered about the room by the mirror panel that ran the length of the room, and marble sinks with gold taps were situated underneath it. A floor-length mirror was attached to the wall where the sinks ended.

"Perfect!"

The cry startled Ginny slightly as she looked up at where Eleanor, Marlein and Stella stood in a group by the mirrors, and Stella held up what looked like a pair of black, pin-stripped trousers for her to see.

_Okay, not nearly as bad as I was expecting_, she thought, relieved, standing up and taking the trousers from Stella. _I can handle this._

Slipping on the trousers, she did them up to find that they fitted perfectly, the slightly flared legs just short enough for her petite form. She looked in the floor-length mirror with a slight smile, realising that she actually looked quite nice. Even her simple black tank-top didn't look too bad with them.

"Now, pass us your top" Eleanor said, already upon Ginny and tugging at the bottom of her tee. Reluctantly Ginny gave it to them, sighing as she pulled it over her head and handed it to Eleanor. Left only in her bra and trousers, Ginny wrapped a subconscious arm around herself, going back to the little pouffe and sitting down to watch them transfigure her top.

"Those trousers look pretty good on you, you know" Michelle declared, leaning over the arm of the sofa to look down at Ginny on her pouffe, "You suit black. Hey Stella!" she cried, turning and giving Ginny a slight shock, "the girl suits black!"

"Got it" Stella replied, nodding.

"You're in good hands with those three. They know what'll look good on certain people" Michelle continued, this time addressing Ginny again. "It won't take them long to decide"

Michelle turned out to be right; within five minutes they all seemed satisfied, beckoning Ginny to them as they revealed what they'd done to her top.

_There's hardly anything there!_ Ginny exclaimed silently as she saw the handful of cloth that Stella held out to her. _There's nothing wrong with showing a bit of flesh, but me doing it?!_

"Uh…guys…" she protested, "I don't…it's not…well, it's not really me"

"So?" Stella countered, handing the top to Ginny, "Once you get to the Viper Club, nothing is really just '_you'_ anymore – it's all about what you can be. Don't you see? That's the essence of this place – what you can become"

"You want me to try the top on, don't you?"

"Just put it on," Stella urged, giggling.

Sighing, Ginny grudgingly agreed, taking the top and pulling it on over her head. It was a halter-neck (still black) with a round neck and laces that criss-crossed at the back and had to be tied, causing some of her back to be exposed, and it hardly reached her midriff, leaving her stomach bare. Looking into the mirror, Ginny bit her lip with uncertainty – she wasn't used to seeing herself in anything quite like this, and she was pretty sure that her limp curls and tired-looking face didn't exactly complement the look. However, it didn't seem her opinion was shared with the others.

"You look gorgeous," Marlein began, circling Ginny and nodding to herself, "Black is definitely your colour"

"It's the hair" Eleanor explained, pulling at one of her own curls and indicating the little black dress she herself wore. Ginny had to stop herself from wincing as she saw the outline of Eleanor's Dark Mark through the gossamer material of her dress's sleeves. She'd have to get used to it though; she _was_ surrounded by Death Eaters after all.

"I don't know…" Ginny replied, still uncertain, "My hair doesn't exactly compliment the look at the moment, does it?"

"Not yet, but it will in a moment," Stella interjected, drawing a wand from a small clutch bag that was on the side. She tapped her wand against her chin, thinking, seemingly unaware of the bright pink sparks that it was giving off every time it was tapped against her skin. "What do you think Anne?" she asked finally, turning to where she sat on a cream chaise-long, her eyes lazily watching the scene in front of her.

"Just give it a bit of life" she replied, staying seating on the chaise-long instead of getting up to join the others, "Make the curls a little more bouncy"

Nodding in agreement, Stella began to twirl her wand in the air, murmuring a spell under her breath as she pointed the wand at Ginny. More pink sparks hissed and sputtered from the wand tip, swirling around Ginny's head and finally settling into her hair.

The difference was instantaneous – immediately, Ginny's hair seem to lift slightly, and the curls seemed to be more vivacious and certainly shinier than before. It was if Ginny had washed it only seconds earlier. It looked clean and fresh; much better than it had looked in a while in fact.

"Wow" Ginny murmured, checking it out in the mirror, "It looks pretty good!"

"And now," Marlein continued, "For the make-up!"

"Make-up?" Ginny repeated.

"Yes, make-up"

Exhaling and raising an eyebrow to show her reluctance, Ginny obediently sat down on one of the couches, watching as the other women grabbed various bag and crowded around next to her.

"What do you think Marlein?" Eleanor asked, looking up at her. Without even saying a word to each other, they both nodded, proceeding to remove several bits and pieces from their make-up bags. Ginny watched warily as Eleanor opened up a disc-shaped object, pausing for a second with her brush poised over the make-up, before deciding on a particular one and dipping the brush in.

"Close your eyes" she instructed Ginny, brushing what must be eyeshadow over her 'lid when she did. Then, after doing the other eye, Ginny felt someone draw eyeliner across the base of her eyelids and lower 'lids, flicking it out at the sides and in the corners.

"You can open your eyes now" she heard Michelle say as someone tapped the side of her face with what felt like the tip of a wand.

"I'm just applying a little foundation," Stella explained as Ginny's eyes locked questioningly on her, smiling and then sweeping blusher across Ginny's cheekbones. "It's much easier than doing it like an idiotic muggle"

"But," Michelle interrupted, "Some things, whilst done better the wizarding way, need a little more finesse than a normal wand can offer"

Having said this, she proceeded to remove what looked like an ordinary lipstick from her bag; however, when she took off the lid, Ginny saw that instead of just a simple stick of muggle lipstick, there was what looked like a miniature wand in its place. As Ginny's bottom and top lip were tapped with the mini wand, she felt her previously dry lips suddenly become smoother and softer, and she had an inkling that she was now wearing perfectly applied glossy lipstick. She'd heard of these things before when listening to her old roommates talk about make-up at 4:30 in the morning; The four of them – Ana, Sophie, Lizzie and Lara – had, whilst not being overly obsessed like Lavender and Parvati, been interested in make-up all the same. They'd known what they were talking about anyway. This 'lipstick' not only applied the make-up itself, but also stayed on for as long as it was worn without fading and acted as a lip-balm. And the best thing of all? It turned any colour you wanted.

"There, all done" Eleanor finally declared, leaning back and nodding her approval, "go check it out"

Deferentially, Ginny stood up from the couch and walked towards the mirrors, her eyes widening slightly as she saw what the other women had done to her.

Her eyes were made up to look sassy and smokey, black eyeliner drawn on in a thickish line over pale silver eyeshadow and flicked out and upwards on the outside, whilst in the corners the flick when down and outwards instead. A thinner line of black had also been drawn along the bottom. Her lips were a dark vampish red, a deep wine colour, set off against her peaches n' cream complexion and the freckles that dotted her nose.

_I look about ten years older!_ she thought with amazement, turning in the mirror to get a view of the back of her outfit too. _And to be honest, it ain't too bad either…_

"Wow," she assented, nodding with approval, "It actually doesn't look too bad. It's a bit exposed…but I'm sure I'll get used to it…"

"I wouldn't worry Ginger, your stomach's as flat as a pancake," Michelle interjected, "And nobody's going to think you look any different; everyone else is dressed the same"

"What, all black and bare, pale skin?" Stella joked, indicating her own outfit of a silky black top and leather trousers. She twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger playfully, eyebrow raised and biting her smiling lips.

"Exactly"

"Well then," Anne announced suddenly, rising from her chair, "seeing as everyone is finally sorted, shall we go back? We told the others we wouldn't be long"

Stella nodded in agreement. "Good idea"

"Yeah, I'm missing my cocktail already," Michelle declared with a impish grin. Linking her arm with Ginny's, she giggled girlishly, leading her out of the toilets with the other women as they picked up their bags and went through the door and back into the blinking, flashing and very, very black world of the Viper Club.

However, halfway across the dance floor, Ginny realised that she neglected to remember her own bag when they'd left. Shouting over the music to Michelle that she'd forgotten her bag and was going back to the bathroom, she detached herself from her and turned, making her way back.

It didn't take long for her to find her bag; it was where she had left it on the marble row of sinks, various bits of clothing still hanging out where Michelle had forgotten to put them back properly.

Retrieving the bag and packing the rest of the clothes haphazardly back in, she put it on and opened the door to the bathroom, looking back to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything as she went through. Seeing that there was nothing else, she turned to go back across the dance floor – and found herself slam straight into someone's chest.

Blinking in surprise as she reeled back slightly, she rubbed the bridge of her nose indignantly, which felt slightly numb from the collision, not noticing who was in front of her until she heard a voice that she hadn't heard in a long while say her name.

"Ah, Weasley," the voice above her said, "Long time no see, wouldn't you say?"

***

**Translations:** There was only one bit of foreign language in here but I though people might want to know what the password means.

The Viper Club password: _"fide mea"_ is Latin, and when translated means _"on my word of honour"_. Fitting, don't you think?****

**A/N** It feels so good to be able to leave cliffhangers again! I've been out of this game for too long, lol. Anyways, hopefully the next chapter will be got out quicker, as I'm on a break from school at the mo (Thank _God_!!!!), but I won't make any promises, as I'll probably have to break them ::author shrugs dejectedly::  (; _ ;)

But anyway, on to happier things now! I have to go otherwise I'm going to miss The Godfather Part II, which I refuse to do as I watched The Godfather last week and I won't miss the sequel, lol.

So thank you to:

**Hplova4eva **(Hey, thanks for the compliments on the fic. Yeah, I feel sorry for the Weasleys too (which must sound pretty odd cuz I put them _in_ this position in the first place) but you never know…hopefully things will turn out good for them – but I'm not making any promises!) **cashew** (okay, got it, I'll try and check out "The Soup Nazi". At least my mum's heard of Seinfield, so that means it does show over here. And don't worry about Stella, I have to admit to loving her too, even if she is all-out-evil, lol. And thanks for not going to drastic measures, even though it _was_ a pretty empty threat ;D) **Alyssa Rose** (I'm glad Stella is getting a positive response, as I have to admit to loving her totally, even though she is a bit of a bitch on occasion! I hope the Jello turned out okay – Jello is the same as Jelly isn't it?) **Okeanos** (Yey! You got on the internet! Oh, but you know you are cruel for saying you hate it, even if it was only a joke ::author pouts sulkily:: But still, you did redeem yourself by saying you love it. And now you see that I have updated, you will have to be nice to me for the rest of eternity. Okay, okay, stop giving me "the look"!!!! I change my mind! You only have to be nice for about a millennium or so!)


	4. Idiosyncrasy

**Blood Ties**

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** "You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the wrong crowd, and before you know it you're _sucked into the vortex_" A chain of events forces Ginny to take on the world of the Dark Lord; but will the lure of power prove too much for her?

**Disclaimer: **All disclaimers apply. Any characters portrayed that you recognise as being from the HP books belong to **J.K Rowling**. Any characters you don't recognise belong to **me**, unless noted. Any characters that you recognise but have been noted as being mine are, obviously, mine : ) I'm not making any money from this, it's just for fun!

**A/N** Here you go folks, another juicy slice of Blood Ties pie for you all, lol. I'm glad it didn't take me quite so long to update this time – a month to update each chapter _is_ a little bad. Oops ;D

**Chapter Four**

**Idiosyncrasy**

"Ah, Weasley," the voice above her said, "Long time no see, wouldn't you say?"

A feeling of horror seemed to wash over Ginny as she looked up to see who had spoken; although what she expected, she wasn't sure. She'd heard the voice– she already knew who it was.

"What, cat got your tongue?" the woman in front of her retorted, smirking maliciously.

"Uh…uh…" was all Ginny was able to muster.

"I see," Kate Vale continued, her eyes scanning Ginny and the clothes she was wearing, "Do you think perhaps you might be able to muster enough intelligence to tell me what _you're_ doing _here_?"

Her eyes locked  on Ginny's, her tone malevolent as she continued, "Especially dressed in _that_"

"I'm…I'm…" Ginny stammered, unsure what to say. Seeing Kate Vale of all people standing in front of her had completely thrown Ginny, and in truth she had no idea what to say.

The last time Ginny had seen Kate Vale had been on her graduation day at Hogwarts, and the parting had not been on the most…pleasant of terms. In truth, Kate and Ginny had always hated each other; Kate had been a Slytherin in the same year as her, and had constantly teased Ginny about her second-hand uniform, books and really anything to do with her family's lack of money. She was pretty much a younger, female version of the hated Pansy Parkinson, save for the fact that, though it pained Ginny to admit it, Kate was incredibly beautiful. Her long, flowing black hair and piercing blue eyes had long since secured her a place among the hearts of most of Hogwarts' male population.

"I'm here for the same reason you are" she finally managed to choke out, her eyes looking fearfully up into Kate's own.

"Oh really?" Kate replied, her voice full of cool amusement, "Well then, I suppose it won't be long until you're visiting our resident stud, will it? I'm guessing that's why your wearing something so…expensive looking"

Ginny could feel the woman's eyes come to rest on her bare midriff, almost as if the pupils were burning holes in her skin.

"Although some might just called it slutty"

Ginny's head jerked slightly with this last comment, as if she'd been physically slapped.

_That's unfair! _her mind screamed, although her vocal chords remained unused. _I didn't want to wear these clothes!_

_Well tough_, another part of her seemed to say, _you're wearing them now and there's nothing you can do about it – so deal!_

The thought gave Ginny a little comfort, strengthening her slightly against the words that Kate was hurling at her. Flicking her hair behind her shoulder with a casual throw of her head, she put a hand on her hip in a gesture of defiance, trying to emanate a confidence and carelessness that she certainly didn't feel.

"Uh huh, because what _you're_ wearing would certainly never constitute the word _slutty_" she shot back, a triumphant smile forming on her lips as she realised what she had just said. However, the feeling of triumph was quickly followed by a sensation of acute alarm as she realised that she had probably just severely pissed off a Death Eater, of all people. Her smile faltered slightly, but she managed to keep it there, although her nervous shifting of weight from foot to foot probably gave away her edginess.

Kate looked at Ginny with a air of surprise, but only for a moment; within a few seconds her smug exterior was back, her contemptuous gaze upon Ginny once more.

"Unexpected Weasley, unexpected – but I'll commend you for finally growing a backbone, even if it's only a limited one," she conceded, albeit with a spiteful tone and an equally spiteful comment, "But on to the real business now; I'm guessing, as you didn't actually say anything – or anything constructive anyway – when I asked if you were going to see our own lovely V.I.P, that you are. Correct?"

"Well…" Ginny answered, "I don't…actually…know…"

"Ah," Kate replied, as if suddenly everything had fallen into place, "I understand. Now this is _very_ interesting. Tell me Weasley, just who brought you to this club?"

"A girl…" Ginny replied, stalling. She didn't know what to say. It was very difficult to know what you should do when dealing with Death Eaters, because at every turn there was a chance of getting killed for saying the wrong thing. Ginny mentally cursed herself again for coming here for what felt like the millionth time.

"Oh, that helps tremendously Weasley, it really does," Kate replied sarcastically, "I _mean_, which girl brought you?"

"She never told me her name," Ginny countered, the lie coming quick and easy to the edge of her tongue – she had no qualms about lying to _this_ woman. However, the words were still slightly stilted – lying to her parents had been one thing, but lying to strangers who could kill you if they found out the truth was certainly another.  

"It sounds just like you to follow a woman you've never met and whose name you don't even know to some bar in the middle of London, Weasley. Mostly because it's so incredibly stupid. Now tell me," Kate began, "Did you know that this bar is full of _Death Eaters_, Weasley?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, actually, I did"

"What?". Kate's surprise was evident as she leant forwards slightly, as is she didn't think she'd heard properly.

"I _said_," Ginny repeated, "Yeah-actually-I-did". Her voice was deliberately slow, the words spaced equally apart as if she were talking to a rather stupid child.

Kate's eyes bulged slightly at this, her cheeks flaming, not so much with embarrassment as with rage as she grabbed Ginny's arm painfully and began to drag her across the room, her long finger nails digging into her flesh.

"Well Weasley, I think it's only fitting that you see our V.I.P now, don't you? Considering, after all, that you're all dressed up" Kate shouted behind her to Ginny as they cut through the throng of people on the floor, "Don't' you agree?"

Before Ginny could find time – or the right words – to reply with, Kate had dragged her across the dance floor and now stood in front of an alcove of space cordoned off with red rope. There were several chunky black sofas and chairs within it, and numerous bottles of champagne were dotted about the place, most of them opened and accompanied by half-empty champagne glasses. People sat, or rather, sprawled drunkenly about on the couches, laughing and enjoying a choice of delicacies from plates that contained such things as lobster and roast hams. 

"Where is he?" Kate asked, leaning on a post that held up the red rope and addressing one of the girls lying on the couches, her grip on Ginny's arm still firm.

"Oh, he, uh, he went that way…" The girl slurred, pointing vaguely behind her and to the right slightly, her attention almost immediately being stolen by a young man next to her who began to tickle her, whispering drunkenly in her ear.

"Right" Kate replied, nodding and walking off in the direction the girl had pointed, which was a small corridor that led off of the main room beside the V.I.P area. The walls, floor and ceiling here were still painted black, but there were sconces lined up all the way along that lit when you passed them and died out when you'd gone by, so that the corridor, whilst _being_ lit, was only ever lit in one spot.

"Here" Kate intoned, stopping in front of a door that Ginny hadn't even noticed at first, mostly because it was painted black as well and had no visible door knob, so it blended in with the surroundings. Kate knocked heavily on the door once, waiting as the sound of someone getting up was heard. The click of someone turning a door handle was heard next, and then it swung open slightly, so that only a tiny crack of light was visible behind the door.

"I've got someone for you" Kate said, a small, vicious smile on her lips as the door swung open a little more; however, Ginny still couldn't see who was behind it. Only Kate could.

Ginny had to assume that the person behind the door had nodded, because Ginny heard no one speak as Kate herself sneered sadistically and nodded back. Beckoning Ginny forwards with a toss of her head, she placed a hand on her back and shoved her through the door, a swift cry of "Good luck Weasel!" following her before the door was shut and any outside noise was cut off.

Ginny stood there numbly in the sudden silence, staring at the door. Fear washed over her suddenly as she realised that she was now alone…alone with a Death Eater anyway.

"Turn around"

The voice of the person behind her sent ripples of familiarity through her being as she heard it; she knew that she'd heard it before, but as for where, or how, or who…she couldn't say…

Slowly, she began to turn, afraid to see who it was and yet at the same time eager to know. Her eyes were aimed at the floor, so the first thing she saw was a pair of black leather shoes, perfectly polished without a speck of dust. Next, a pair of black trousers, then a leather belt just visible through a white shirt with the last few buttons undone. Up over the chest sheathed in the pale shirt, to the elegant white neck and then…

Ginny gasped in shock as she saw just who it was, her hand flying over her mouth as she felt her knees tremble. She leant against the door, staring at him with wide eyes and her breathing panicked.

"Oh my god, oh my god…" she repeated over and over again, "It's you…"

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Malfoy replied, his voice cool and his face calm, "An interesting fact, to be sure," (here he paused, looking at Ginny with an air of mild interest) "but tell me, please – what are _you_ doing here?"

Ginny just shook her head, eyes still wild as she stared at him.

"Will you not tell me?"

But Ginny felt as if she could hardly move, let alone speak. Shaking her head a little more, she just continued to look at him with expressions of wonder and fear mixed together in her features.

"Well then, I suppose I'll just have to cart you out there and tell whoever brought you here to take you back home—"

"No!" Ginny cried, finding that the remark had sent life back into her veins. She put a hand out towards Malfoy in a reflexive gesture of don't-you-dare-move-an-inch, shaking her head. 

"No," she said again, her voice calmer and quieter this time, "You can't do that"

"Why not?"

"Because…" she explained, taking a deep breath, "They don't know who I am"

One of Malfoy's pale eyebrows shot up in a look of surprise, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he wanted to smile but had thought better of it.

"Oh, really?" he said, his tone betraying his amusement anyway, "and why would that be?"

"Because I didn't tell them"

"Bravo, Weasley, bravo – it seems you do have some common sense and reason after all" he drawled, clapping softly and mocking her, "No – what I meant was _why_ didn't you _tell_ them"

Ginny remained silent, her lips locked together and a look of defiance creeping onto her face. She wouldn't tell Malfoy why they didn't know. As long as she could find a way to stop him telling the others who she really was, it didn't matter.

"Tell me," he continued, "Would it have something to do with the fact that you're on the run from the ministry?"

Ginny's mouth fell open in horror, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her. _How does he know?_ she silently cried, unable to figure it out. There was no way the ministry would have alerted the general wizarding public to the fact that she was missing, it would cause too much panic. Being told that the youngest daughter of the dead Weasleys had now gone missing and may be dead herself was _not_ something the ministry would like the rest of the world to hear.

"How—how do you know?" she whispered, eyes wide as she looked at Malfoy from across the room.

"Oh, I know a few people, that's all. A couple of people from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in fact" he revealed, watching with amusement as Ginny's eyes became like saucers, "Apparently they've put out a search warrant for you. Seeing as a bag, several items of clothing and a pair of shoes are missing from your room and there's no sign of a struggle, right now they're willing to bet that you've run away"

"You have an informant whose _that_ good?" Ginny blurted out, unable to help herself, but nearly immediately her hands flew to her mouth, almost as if they were guarding against her saying anything more. She was determined that at no point would she ever enter into something that sounded like a civil conversation with Draco Malfoy.

To her utter fury, he chuckled lightly, calmly taking a sip of something from a glass that rested on a table next to his chair before refocusing his attention on her.

"Yes," he replied nonchalantly, "I have an informant whose _that_ good. In fact," he continued, "They're so good they practically have Fudge tied around their little finger"

"But…surely nobody could infiltrate that…deep…"

"Oh believe me, Weasley, they can. But now" he said, changing the subject, "To be honest, I am much more concerned with why you're _here _than anything else. What my friend told me was nothing more than a rumour in a late night conversation—That is, until you turn up unannounced in my private rooms, dressed in something I'm more likely to see Pansy Parkinson in rather than the youngest Weasley"

Ginny scowled at him, all earlier thoughts of fear and confusion quickly disappearing as defiance seared through her. She crossed her arms and stopped leaning against the door, standing as tall as her petite frame could manage (helped along by the heels on her boots of course).

"Who cares if I'm wearing these clothes?" she snapped angrily, "I'm still wearing a whole lot more than half those whores out there"

"Feisty," Malfoy shot back, standing up himself, "And pretty bitchy too"

Ginny just stared insolently back at him, chin tilted and eyes haughty in a gesture of rebellion. A smirk stayed on Malfoy's face as he began to walk towards her slowly, the sneer growing as he saw her body giving away the nervousness her face wouldn't show. She was shaking, he realised as he drew nearer, and the realisation thrilled him. It was always fun to see women affected that way by him.

"Now Weasley—or should I call you Virginia?" he questioned as he reached her, his eyes raking over her appreciatively , "What are you going to do if I go out there and tell those new friends of yours who you really are? I don't think they'd be too pleased, do you? After all," he whispered as he got closer, "you did lie to them"

He was so close now that Ginny could feel his breath on her neck as he stood next to her, leaning towards her so that he only had to whisper for her to hear him.

"I—I…what do you expect me to say?" she reasoned, her eyes closing momentarily as she felt despair beginning to take hold of her.

"Well," Malfoy answered, his fingers reaching up and beginning to thread themselves within her hair, "How about we start with addressing each other on a first name basis. It gets tiring to hear the name Weasley over and over again after a while"

"Al—alright…_Draco_" she agreed, trying not to take notice of his delicate hands playing with strands of her hair.

"And secondly," he said, leaning so close now that Ginny could almost feel his lips touch her skin when he spoke, "There's something I want from you Virginia…"

_Oh god, please_, she thought desperately, _not…not__…_

But she could hardly bear to finish the thought, closing her eyes with desperation and hoping that this was only another nightmare. Hesitantly, she brought a shaking hand up to her opposite forearm and pinched, hard, wincing when pain shot through her skin and down her arm.

_Oh hell!_ She shrieked in her mind, _why can't this be another horrible nightmare? Why?_

So she waited. Waited for the feeling of his lips on her skin, on her neck, on her…mouth – but it never came. Instead she felt him move away, the space around her where he had been a second ago now only filled with cold air. Opening her eyes, she looked around in confusion, her eyes finding him on the other side of the room instead, rubbing his temple with elegant white fingers.

"You see Virginia," he began, "There is a man sitting out there in the club who I need to see. However, he has been avoiding me for the past week and there has been no way for me to talk to him. So you see," he continued, turning to face her, "I need the help of someone a little more…persuasive than me. And when I say persuasive I _don't_ mean the kind of persuasive where you hurl a punch or two at somebody's face. I mean the sort of persuasion that a member of the opposite sex can provide"

For the second time in a very short space of time Ginny's mouth fell open in horror.

"What?!" she yelled indignantly, her face a picture of abhorrence, "You want me to—you—ooo!". She finished her sentence with a very unladylike howl of anger, her face reddening and her hands balling up into fists. "That's _disgusting!_"

"Calm down, Virginia, it's not as if I'm asking you to sleep with him" Draco said calmly, looking as though he wanted to laugh but wouldn't let himself.

"You're not?" Ginny answered, confused, "Well then, what _are_ you asking me to do then?"

"All I am asking is for you to use some of that feminine charm those clothes give, and get the guy in here" he said, holding out something to her. It was a photograph. "That's him"

"Why should I? It's disgusting and demoralising" she argued, crossing her arms again and ignoring the photo.

"Because, Virginia" he retorted, annoyance seeping into his tone slightly, as if he were dealing with a spoilt child that refused to give up a toy, "If you don't do me this favour, I can do something that practically constitutes singing your death warrant"

"You can tell them" Ginny replied slowly, realisation dawning on her. He knew who she really was, and he could easily tell Stella and Michelle and the rest of them. "There's nothing I can do, is there?"

"Apart from what I've asked of you, no, there isn't" Draco confirmed, "If you do what I've asked, I'll go along with your little charade"

"What about Kate Vale?" Ginny asked, reluctantly taking the photo, "She already knows who I am anyway, and there's probably about twenty others who do as well"

Draco dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "I'll sort them out Virginia – as long as you do what I've asked"

Ginny nodded slowly, sighing in defeat. However, she still didn't leave, instead staring at the back of Draco's head as he began to peruse the bookshelf that spread along the back wall. Sensing that she was still there, she saw him pause and shake his head. Turning, he asked, "Why are you still here?"

"Why are you helping me?"

Draco groaned under his breath. He hated people answering questions with questions. It wasted breath.

"Because, Virginia, I need to see this man. Believe me, if you'd been wearing anything else, I wouldn't have helped at all"

There was silence behind him, only because he assumed she was mulling the answer over in her head. Turning, he looked at her as she stood there, her gaze angry and yet at the same time utterly defeated.

"I haven't got all night, you know" he prompted ever-so-unsubtly, "Get going"

He watched with satisfaction as she scowled angrily. Looking around for a moment, he saw her eyes seize on a bottle that sat on the desk by the far wall. Walking over to it, she grabbed it, examined the label, and, making sure that her eyes were locked on his the whole time, took an enormous swig from the bottle of what – if he remembered correctly – was Vodka. 

She choked slightly as it went down, but she didn't spit it all back out, quite an achievement in his eyes for someone who had obviously only had Vodka once or twice before. Slamming it back down on the table so hard that half the contents shot out of the top and all over the desk, she gave him a rebellious glare and stalked over to the door, grabbing the silver door handle and swinging it open with such force that it swung all the way round and hit the wall. As it slammed shut behind her, Draco shook his head and laughed. That Weasley girl was obviously completely off the rails.

***

Ginny felt like she was going to explode. _How dare he?_ she fumed silently, her scowl deepening further as she stalked up the corridor, unaware of everything save for Malfoy's voice as it went on and on in her head. _"I need the help of someone a little more persuasive than me"… "Use that feminine charm"…who the hell does he think he is? Huh?_

As she neared the end of the corridor, she saw Kate Vale walking in the opposite direction, back down the corridor towards the room that Malfoy was in. She gave Ginny a perplexed looked as she passed, obviously wondering why Ginny had escaped from him unscathed, but Ginny just shot a glare back at her; she was in such a bad mood even Kate Vale didn't phase her. It passed through her head that he'd probably asked for her so he could perform a memory charm on her, although how he was going to rid about twenty people of _all_ their memories of Ginny she didn't know. She'd never heard of a spell that could do that – but then again, the only spells _she'd_ ever performed or heard of were light spells. Reputedly, the Dark Arts could do anything.

As she passed the V.I.P area and made her way towards the bar, she looked at the photo in her hand. It was a wizarding photo, taken outside what appeared to be a station. The man in it was quite short, balding slightly, with a pair of thick glasses perched on top of a pig-like nose. He was also extremely ugly. She turned it over to see if there was a date or anything like that, but instead she found a name, written in dark purple ink, the script neat and looping.

_Alfred Learing_

"What sort of name is that?" she murmured to herself as she sat on a stool by the bar, turning the picture back and once more looking at the man in the shot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that over the music" the barman said, making her jump, "What did you order?"

"Oh, just a—a Vodka and Orange please" she requested politely, smiling and quickly hiding the photo in her trouser pocket. This barman was different from the last, a much younger and, to be frank, much cuter one, so asking him if he knew where this "Alfred Learing" was wouldn't put her in too much jeopardy with the others, she reasoned.

"Uh, excuse me," she began as he got her order, "But could you tell me where I might find   
Alfred Learing?"

"What do you want him for?" the barman asked, his tone one of incredulity, "It's not usually your sort who're looking for him"

"What do you mean?" Ginny enquired back, curious in spite of herself and the knowledge that she shouldn't be extending this conversation any more than she had to.

"Oh, it's just that it's usually Mr. Malfoy and the likes of him that are actually asking around for that Learing fella, that's all"

"Oh," Ginny replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible, all the while preparing herself for her next line, "It's just that I have some…_personal_ business with him"

_Don't be sick, don't be sick, don't be sick…_

"Oh…" the barman replied, an air of mild disgust on his face as he handed Ginny her drink, "It's his money I suppose?"

Ginny just shrugged and smiled naively, taking a sip of her drink.

"If you're determined to find him," he continued, "Then you'd do best to look up there,". He pointed up to the second level of chairs and tables that Ginny had fist seen when she came in. "He likes the table in the far right-hand corner"

"Well then," Ginny conceded, jumping from her stool and taking her drink from the bar, "I guess I'll go up there then". She smiled innocuously at the barman, twirling a curl around her finger in a motion that screamed "_Airhead!_" at the top of it's voice. "Thanks"

"No problem…" he called after her as she began to walk away from the bar, smiling a little as she turned and waved.

"Man…that's one hot chick…" he murmured, staring after her, "I've gotta get myself a girl like that…"

***

Ginny, meanwhile, was trying to work out how to get to the stairs without seeing Stella and the others, and vice versa. Eventually, she decided to just go the long way round, crossing the dance floor and making her way to the stairs along the opposite wall to the bar. It worked, because she reached the stairs without once seeing any of the others, although at one point she'd had to evade someone she was sure she recognised from her yearbook at home.

Having now reached the second level, she scanned the numerous tables and chairs scattered about the second level. There wasn't an enormous amount of people up here, and those who were mostly just sat at the table talking, with a few standing by the railings and looking out over the dance floor.

It took a few moments for Ginny to spy out where Learing was, but she soon saw him, sitting in a corner at a table surrounded by…well, quite a few women actually. Ginny squinted slightly and stared harder at the table to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her – but no, it was true. Several members of the opposite sex (i.e. female) sat around Learing, all of them with cocktails in hand and smiling at Learing with a look of desire; a desire Ginny was willing to bet was centred on Learing's fat wallet, _not_ his face. Shaking her head, Ginny squared her shoulders and stood up straighter, taking a deep breath as she began to walk across the room towards Learing, making a conscious effort to swing her hips and trying not to trip in her heels at the same time.

_I can't believe I'm doing this_, she thought incredulously to herself as she plastered a wide, (hopefully) dazzling smile on her lips. The closer she got to the table, the more and more she repeated to herself the words Draco had said – _"If you don't do me this favour, I can do something that practically constitutes singing your death warrant"_

_Do this for your _life_ Ginny_, she said to herself as she neared the table, _Do this for your family. You're no good to them as another dead body._

"Hello," she greeted sensuously as she arrived at the table, putting a hand on the man's shoulder, "Can I join you?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Learing declared, looking thoroughly happy at having another young women join his party, "Seat yourself down here". He reached out a dragged a chair over from a neighbouring table, positioning it right next to him and causing the woman who had previously been in that particular place of honour to scowl darkly.

"Well, actually…" Ginny purred, all the while feeling the bile rise in her throat as she leant in towards him and began to whisper, "I was thinking more along the lines of sitting with _you_, if you understand my meaning"

"Oh…yes…yes I do," Learing replied, his ugly face breaking into an equally ugly grin, "I'm sorry girls," he said, turning to the others, "but Miss…uh…Miss—"

"Louisa" Ginny supplied.

"—Yes, Miss Louisa here has requested only _my_ company. I'm sure you understand" he reasoned as a collective groan rose from the group of women, "I'll see you all again soon, I'm sure" he continued, getting up as the women did, even hugging and kissing several of them goodbye, whom Ginny assumed must be regular "Learing leeches", as she had already so affectionately nick-named them.

Finally, when the last of them had gone, Learing turned back to Ginny, who had sat down at the table.

"So…" he began, sitting down next to her, "What is it you wanted that meant we had to be…alone?"

_Talk about living up to the meaning of your name_, Ginny thought with revulsion as the man leered at her sickeningly. _Uggh! I am going to _kill_ Malfoy when I find him!_

"Well…" Ginny began, closing her eyes momentarily to stop herself being sick as Learing's hand came to rest on her knee, "I…uh…uh…"

"Yes?" Learing encouraged eagerly, his hand still resting on Ginny's leg.

"Well…uh…you know what?" Ginny said, getting up from the table. Learing looked up at her in confusion as she stood there, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she swayed slightly. "I was thinking that maybe…maybe…"

_Just say it girl! Get it over with!_

"I was thinking that maybe we could go somewhere more private" she said in a rush of breath, trying to get the words out as fast as possible. What was even worse was Learing's nauseating snigger as he stood, his eyes roaming appreciatively over Ginny's outfit. She felt as if she'd be physically sick if she was around this man much longer. No, it was much better to get things over and done with.

"You see, I think I know a place we could go," she suggested seductively, motioning behind her to downstairs.

"Well, where you lead, I'll certainly follow!" Learing cackled, trailing Ginny as she made her way across the floor to the stairs. She checked as she got there that Learing was still behind her, feeling an undeniable sensation of displeasure that he was still there when she looked, and she knew his eyes were resting on her behind when she wasn't looking.

Leading him across the dance floor, Ginny made sure to take him the way she'd come herself – it would have been bad enough if Stella had seen her and stopped her from carry out her "favour" for Malfoy, but for her to see Ginny with Learing…she didn't even want to _think_ about the questions that would be asked.

Luckily, they made it back to the corridor without bumping into anyone, and Ginny took a deep breath as they stood at the beginning of the corridor, Learing standing beside her and practically shaking with anticipation. She began to head up the corridor, turning to where he still stood at the edge. A look of uncertainty passed over his face as he looked up the corridor, but as soon as Ginny put on her…affectionate smile, beckoning for him to follow here, any doubt that he was feeling must have left him, for he licked his thin lips sickeningly and eagerly followed Ginny up the corridor. Forcing herself to giggle as if she was actually enjoying herself, she kept a look out from the corner of her eye to try and see where the door was, knowing how well it blended in with the walls and determined not to miss it.

Finally, her eyes caught the subtle line of the door's edge, and she stopped, leaning against it with what she hoped would sound like a loud bang on the other side. She giggled like an airhead, trying again her trick of twirling a piece of hair around her finger and biting her lip. Learing sniggered sickeningly once more, leaning forward and beginning to slobber over her neck.

_Oh, this is DISGUSTING!_ her mind screamed, followed by a feeling of indignation at Malfoy for not opening the door as soon as she had hit it. Once again she knocked on the black metal surface with her fist, Learing being so caught up in drooling all over her that he didn't notice – that is, until the door suddenly swung open.

Ginny, knowing that sometime soon the door would (hopefully) be opened, had prepared herself for it, her reflexes preventing her from falling, only staggering slightly. Learing, however, had not been so lucky; he tumbled off of Ginny onto the floor of the room, his nose hitting the polished wooden floor as he descended right at Draco's feet.

"Oh, it's you" Draco said, his voice openly full of disgust as he watched Learing sit up, his hand over his nose, which had begun to bleed freely. "Couldn't you find somewhere else to do one of your whores? Who is it this time? Marie? Claire?"

"Elizabeth or something like that" Learing answered, his reply muffled from the hand he held over his bleeding nose.

"Louisa!" Ginny interjected indignantly, arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow at Draco as he looked up at her, silently trying to tell him to call her Louisa.

"Louisa…right," Draco replied, his gaze lingering on Ginny with a hint of perplexity in his face; But within moments it was gone, and he had a look of disgust on his face as his attention centred back on Learing. "But I suppose this interruption wasn't _entirely_ wasted," he continued, walking over to Ginny and grabbing her arm, moving her firmly away from Learing and out the door. "Wait there," he whispered quietly as he placed her outside in the corridor.

 "I've been meaning to talk to you," she heard him say to Learing just before the door closed, "about some debt collection—"

But his words were cut off by the door closing, and Ginny was left standing outside in the corridor, alone.

Staring at the door for a moment, she felt all the emotion from the past 24 hours welling up inside her, and before she could stop herself she felt tears well up in her eyes, and she began to cry.

***

**A/N** Wow, I can't believe I've finished this chapter already. It took me ages to finish each of the last two chapters, but I've done this one in two days! And it's the longest yet. Heehee.

Just in case anyone is interested and in case I didn't get the point across very well, **Kate Vale** was Ginny's "worst enemy" at Hogwarts – she's sort of a female version of Draco mixed with Pansy Parkinson. She was in Ginny's year at school. And, for fear that some of you might be concerned, don't worry, **Stella** _will_ be making a return appearance, just not this chapter.

**As for the name of this chapter** – I dunno, **Idiosyncrasy** just seemed to fit. I looked it up on the thesaurus and it means "Unconventional behaviour", and as this chapter features some pretty unconventional behaviour, I'd say it fitted really well!

Anyways, thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed – I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks to:

**Amanda Mancini** (Thanks so much for the advice, it's nice to know someone's rootin' for ya, lol. As you can see I took hold of your advice and tried to do it justice. _However_, I do have to warn you that I'm on holiday at the moment, so once I go back to normal it'll be increasingly difficult for me to update quickly cause of all the homework (Grr!). But I think the fact that I got off to a stilted start with this probably has something to do with why it took me a while to update. Hopefully now things are flowing better I'll update quicker anyway. Btw, did you write a fic called "Red Dementia"?) **Okeanos** (No actually, she's an abstract version of _you_. C'mon Lara, doesn't the name Michelle ring a bell? : D heehee! And I hope this update was quick enough for you. I did try! Happy Easter to you too, and I'm glad you found the Caps Lock button) **Alyssa Rose** (Yeah, it's cool when you find out you and a famous movie star think the same. Well, you know, great minds think alike…jk, jk! Glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope this chapter lived up to the others) **fcuking cathy** (Really, mine was the best? That's so nice! Well, now you know who the voice belonged to – but even though it wasn't Draco, he turned up in the end! And yes, later on in the story hopefully more information about her parents' deaths and the rest of her family will come to light. Hope you like the update) **hermiones double** (Thanks for the major compliments on my fic, that's so nice of you! And I'm glad you like Michelle, even though she is evil, lol. I know what you mean about liking a character even though they're supposed to be horrible. I always appreciate compliments on my original characters)


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